The annual crosstown swim meet wrapped Thursday night inside Swarthout Fieldhouse as the C.M. Russell High swimming teams took home first place on both the boys’ and girls’ side.

The CMR boys beat Great Falls High 102-67, and the CMR girls won 108-67. But as swimming head coach Ed McNamee has said, the meet Thursday night wasn’t so much about winning or losing, it was a celebration of the seniors and the sacrifices they have made to the program.

Even more, it was a tribute to the “four teams, one family” mantra that they have used for the past several years.

“It was good,” McNamee said. “I saw a lot of things with our relays that we needed to see. The seniors stood out and were the class act like I expected them to be. And we’re ready to go for state now. I think everything is in motion togo down to state, to go down to Butte, and do something special for all four teams.

“It was a special night,” he said. “It’s a special night for the kids. … It’s really a chance for them to be recognized by the local community. It was really nice to have all the school district people here, to come say hi and shake their hands.”

CMR freshman Kilee Rohlf won the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke for the Rustlers. Rustler Morgan Shaw won the 100-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle.

CMR’s Brandon Miller won the 100-yard freestyle for the boys, while Rustler Patrick Brennan won the 50-yard freestyle.

For the Bison, senior Bri Conrad won the 200-yard individual medley and junior Allyson Keller placed first in the 100-yard backstroke, while sophomore Jared Biddle won the 100-yard backstroke.

McNamee likes how his teams are performing going into the MHSA State Meet on Feb. 14 in Butte.

“I really like where our teams are at,” he said. “We’ll be ready. The next week we will be tapering and we will be getting rested and ready to go.”

Swarthout Fieldhouse was filled with fans from both schools. It was more of a relaxed atmosphere than a regular rivalry matchup. But, like McNamee has said, he prefers it that way — and it is a tribute to the sportsmanship and togetherness of both schools.

“(It was a) pretty good crowd,” he said. “You know we have a lot of parents and supporters. It’s always good for the kids to see that, that they do have that kind of support. It is a different crowd. … So it does kind of have a different atmosphere to it, but it’s an environment that we have created, and it’s an environment that we are real happy to have.”

The relays, McNamee said earlier in the week, were the head coach’s No. 1 priority when assessing the crosstown meet, as several relays count double next week in Butte. McNamee, for the most part, liked what he saw.

“We had a few glitches that we are going to have to work on,” he said on the relays. “We’ll get that polished up. But now that we have solidified who the four are for each team. … We are excited.”

The highlight of the meet came in the final event — the boys’ 400-yard freestyle relay, where it is a tradition for everyone involved — in this case all six lanes — to finish in a tie. It didn’t quite show up that way on the electronic leaderboard, but it was about as close as it can get, as they all finished with a 3-2-1 chant and touched the wall.

It not only symbolizes the sportsmanship these two schools have, but it also symbolizes that the State Meet is a week away.

“That’s just a symbolic gesture,” McNamee said. “ They compete and they do all that stuff every day. … That kind of kicks off, ‘Hey, we’re ready for State. We’re ready to go.’”